Magic Con Philadelphia is officially underway, and there are many things for players to expect. Whether you’re following along with the prestigious Pro Tour event or looking forward to the first look at the new March of Machines, there’s a ton of stuff to look forward to, even if you aren’t at the event. That said, some who did decide to attend Magic Con Philadelphia in-person are getting randomly gifted one of the rarest MTG cards ever created. While the card is speculated to be rather valuable, most MTG players are instead interested in the card’s artwork… where the Shivan Dragon from MTG’s earliest days looks to be having some fun with Volcanoes.
295 Shivan Dragons!?
Some players who attended Magic Con Philadelphia quickly took to Reddit to show off a new incredibly rare reprint introduced to MTG via being randomly selected to receive it. This Shivan Dragon only has 295 copies available, according to the numbered detail on the corner of the Secret Lair card. Shivan Dragon is not the most expensive card in the world, but there are copies out there that are already very valuable. Since the card has been around since Alpha, MTG’s first set ever, you can find Shivan Dragons for thousands of dollars. As a game piece, however, Shivan Dragon is not very desirable. Therefore, you can also find Shivan Dragons for less than a dollar.
Early interest in the card suggests, for any who are interested in purchasing this suggestive dragon for themselves, that the card will be worth more than $500. This prediction comes from renowned card vendor Star City games requesting to purchase the card (assumedly for resell) for half a grand. Since they want to purchase this card for such a high amount, the card may end up being worth even more.
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Volcanic Controversy
While many MTG players who were lucky enough to receive one of these cards randomly were incredibly excited about it, many MTG players interested in the new Shivan Dragon commented on the artwork that accompanied it. Notably, a lot of commentary was received based on Shivan Dragon’s interaction with the volcanoes surrounding it:
“Can’t wait to see the alternate arts of this Shivan Dragon jerking off two volcanoes in all its magnificent regal splendor” – BeatHunter
“Don’t look me in the eyes while you do that, Shivan Dragon.” – dratnon
“It’s a dragon jerking off two volcanos.” – Elkenrod
This has ‘ruined’ the exclusive card for many MTG players. While everyone had a pretty good chuckle at the dragon’s expense, Shivan Dragon’s scarcity still makes it an incredibly valuable collectible. This wasn’t the only rare collectible that Secret Lair showed off at MTG Philadelphia this week, as, alongside the controversial dragon, a new Secret Lair exclusive to WPN LGS has been revealed!
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”What if?’ Planeswalkers Continued
Wizards of the Coast’s newest Secret Lair expands on the ‘what if?’ experimentation seen in alternate art Booster Fun cards available in Phyrexia: All Will Be One packs. Featured here are four reprinted Planeswalker cards reprinted in Compleated artworks. The most interesting of the four is Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord. This Planeswalker, initially printed in M20, is a vampire tribal player’s dream. For only three mana, Sorin can cheat in other vampire creatures, pump up your creatures, and can even sacrifice a vampire to turn it into a removal while still gaining loyalty! The cheat ability is quite powerful in Commander (as well as constructed), but Sorin’s other effects excel in constructed formats. Sorin is currently priced at about $17 in near-mint condition.
Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God
Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God, is a Planeswalker that actually sees play in more than one format. While mainly seen in Commander, Nicol Bolas also sees some occasional play as a one-of in Mono Green Devotion in Pioneer. For those confused about why a Grixis Planeswalker would see play in a Mono-Green Green deck, Oath of Nissa can easily fix your mana to cast Nicol Bolas.
This card is an absolute menace in any deck that’s using more than one Planeswalker. Pithing Needle is a card commonly used to attack the Mono Green strategy, naming Karn, the Great Creator, so its owner cannot activate Planeswalker abilities. Nicol Bolas can circumvent this with its static ability. You can then use Karn’s tutor ability without any restrictions.
While Nicol Bolas’ minus ability is good in an emergency, the card’s plus and ultimate abilities are pretty powerful. Drawing cards while causing your opponents to give up a card is an excellent advantage engine. Otherwise, Bolas’s ultimate is surprisingly easy to pull off in Commander. All you need is a Doubling Season[/toolitips] in play, and you can win the game out of nowhere. Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God currently retails for about $10.
Ugin and the Rest
Ugin, the Ineffable is a fan-favorite Planeswalker in colorless Commander strategies. You can unlock a sort of solitaire-esque mode for six mana, as all of your colorless spells suddenly cost two less. Ugin’s abilities are also quite powerful, providing creatures to protect it, that doubles as card advantage. This made Ugin one of the deadliest cards in War of the Spark Limited. Ugin, the Ineffable currently retails for about $4.
The last card features a neat reimagining of the Planeswalker Sarkhan Vol becoming Compleated. Interestingly, this card is actually the most expensive reprint of the entire Secret Lair. Sorin, Dragonsoul only has one printing in a rather low quantity: a Magic 2019 structure deck. Sorin’s plus and minus abilities are rather repugnant for the Planeswalker’s mana value, which is a standard for structure deck Planeswalkers. All of this card’s $22 value resides on two things: Sorin’s scarcity and his ultimate. If you manage to ultimate Sarkhan, Dragonsoul, you can literally dump every single Dragon creature from your deck onto the battlefield. With [tooltips]Terror of the Peaks being on the gigantic list of tutorable cards with this ability, this ultimate can quickly end the game on the spot.
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